Driving the Day

Good Wednesday morning. TODAY begins the most anticipated pair of Capitol Hill hearings in recent memory. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will testify today, and former FBI Director James Comey tomorrow. Additionally, the Coats hearing also features Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, NSA Director Michael Rogers and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Start time: 10 a.m. Reporters are dying to get in. TV networks are expected to broadcast live. These 48 hours are certain to be a big part of the story of the Trump presidency. THERE HAS ALSO BEEN AN UNCANNY amount of news in the lead up to the Comey and Coats hearings.

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A NEW PLOT TWIST — WHAT WILL COME UP TODAY — “Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe,” by WaPo’s Adam Entous: “The nation’s top intelligence official told associates in March that President Trump asked him if he could intervene with then-FBI Director James B. Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe, according to officials.

“On March 22, less than a week after being confirmed by the Senate, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats attended a briefing at the White House together with officials from several government agencies. As the briefing was wrapping up, Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

“The president then started complaining about the FBI investigation and Comey’s handling of it, said officials familiar with the account Coats gave to associates. Two days earlier, Comey had confirmed in a congressional hearing that the bureau was probing whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 race. After the encounter, Coats discussed the conversation with other officials and decided that intervening with Comey as Trump had suggested would be inappropriate, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal matters.” http://wapo.st/2rTQxjk

— ONE THING TO REMEMBER: Yes, Coats is going to be forced to answer for this. But he’s a former senator. So he probably will get a touch more deference than anyone else in his position would.

UPPING THE ANTE — “Sessions offered to resign before Trump’s trip abroad,” by Tara Palmeri, Eliana Johnson, and Josh Dawsey: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered his resignation to President Donald Trump amid Trump’s rising frustration with the series of events that culminated in the appointment of a special counsel to investigate his campaign’s contacts with Russian officials during last year’s election.

“Trump ultimately refused Sessions’ offer, which came just before Trump embarked on his first international trip in late May, according to a person who regularly speaks with Sessions. This person said the attorney general offered to resign out of a sense of obligation because he was aware of how angered Trump was about his decision to recuse from the Russia investigations in March. …

“Trump has continuously — sometimes publicly — expressed his frustration with Sessions’ decision to formally step back from any investigation of Russian election interference. Sessions has said his decision came after he consulted extensively with Justice Department lawyers about what was appropriate. A second source close to Sessions described Trump as ‘obsessed’ with Sessions’ recusal, describing it as an ongoing flashpoint ever since Sessions made the decision. ‘I guess it’s finally gotten out that Trump is pissed at Jeff,’ this person said.” http://politi.co/2r4vdDI

SIREN — THE COMEY HEARING, 10 A.M. THURSDAY — “Comey Told Sessions: Don’t Leave Me Alone With Trump,” by NYT’s Mike Schmidt and Matt Apuzzo: “The day after President Trump asked James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, to end an investigation into his former national security adviser, Mr. Comey confronted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and said he did not want to be left alone again with the president, according to current and former law enforcement officials. Mr. Comey believed Mr. Sessions should protect the F.B.I. from White House influence, the officials said, and pulled him aside after a meeting in February to tell him that private interactions between the F.B.I. director and the president were inappropriate. But Mr. Sessions could not guarantee that the president would not try to talk to Mr. Comey alone again, the officials said.” http://nyti.ms/2qVsmxS

JOSH DAWSEY SCOOP: “Comey talked with Mueller’s team ahead of testimony”: “Former FBI Director Jim Comey’s testimony Thursday is one of the most highly anticipated hearings in recent memory — but his words are unlikely to surprise special counsel Robert Mueller, whose team has been in contact with Comey, according to two of his associates. Friends of Comey say they expect the testimony to largely stick to his conversations with President Donald Trump and is unlikely to break ground on the investigation into potential collusion with Russia and any of Trump’s associates. That is not surprising, legal experts say, because of the ongoing investigation that Mueller took over last month.

“These people say Comey is trying to be careful ‘to just describe what happened with the president and how he felt about it,’ in the words of one associate. But this person said Comey ‘wants to correct the record, from his point of view, on certain things the president and his aides have said.’ One Comey friend said ‘there had been conversations’ between Comey and Mueller’s team before the testimony and ‘Mueller won’t be surprised.’” http://politi.co/2r4AhYU

THE COUNTER ATTACK — “White House looks for ways to undermine Comey’s credibility,” by AP’s Julie Pace and Julie Bykowicz: “Both White House officials and an outside group that backs Trump plan to hammer Comey in the coming days for misstatements he made about Democrat Hillary Clinton’s emails during his last appearance on Capitol Hill. An ad created by the pro-Trump Great America Alliance — a nonprofit ‘issues’ group that isn’t required to disclose its donors — casts Comey as a ‘showboat’ who was ‘consumed with election meddling’ instead of focusing on combating terrorism. The 30-second spot is slated to run digitally on Wednesday and appear the next day on CNN and Fox News.

“The Republican National Committee has been preparing talking points ahead of the hearing, which will be aired live on multiple TV outlets. An RNC research email Monday issued a challenge to the lawmakers who will question Comey. There’s bipartisan agreement, the email says, that Comey ‘needs to answer a simple question about his conversations with President Trump: If you were so concerned, why didn’t you act on it or notify Congress?’” http://apne.ws/2r0RGX9 … The adhttp://bit.ly/2rKTD7l

INSIDE THE WEST WING — WAPO’S BOB COSTA, ASHLEY PARKER AND PHIL RUCKER, “Trump, furious and frustrated, gears up to punch back at Comey testimony”: “Alone in the White House in recent days, President Trump — frustrated and defiant — has been spoiling for a fight, according to his confidants and associates. Glued even more than usual to the cable news shows that blare from the televisions in his private living quarters, or from the 60-inch flat screen he had installed in his cramped study off the Oval Office, he has fumed about ‘fake news.’ Trump has seethed as his agenda has stalled in Congress and the courts. He has chafed against the pleas for caution from his lawyers and political advisers, tweeting whatever he wants, whenever he wants.” http://wapo.st/2r0Nu9L

— PERSONNEL NUGGETS: “The White House recently approached Geoff Morrell … about coming inside the administration and overhauling the communications operation, according to three people with knowledge of the overture. Morrell declined to comment, but BP announced last month that Morrell would be moving to London this summer to run government relations and communications for the company globally. Scott Reed, senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was also approached about taking a communications role within the White House … In addition, Laura Ingraham … discussed joining the White House but made clear to officials that she is more comfortable remaining outside as a vocal Trump ally because of her many broadcasting and media commitments.”

THE DAWSEY DOWNLOAD: WEST WING COUNTDOWN CLOCK DREAD — “TVs are always on cable news in President Trump’s West Wing, and several aides say they have watched the countdown clock to James Comey’s nationally-televised testimony with dread.

“Inside the White House, some want to mount a forceful pushback to Comey’s testimony if it’s damaging to the president. Some strategies have been drawn up, and surrogates readied. Trump has mentioned the looming testimony to associates on several occasions and has told at least one person he might respond forcefully. But others are concerned that a forceful fight may only lead Comey to ‘make it even worse,’ one person said. There is a widespread belief in the White House that Trump poked Comey and started this whole thing by tweeting about ‘tapes’ of his conversations and saying the former FBI director told him he wasn’t under investigation, according to several officials.

“So while Trump is traveling to Cincinnati — and the White House is trying at all costs to show momentum for its beleaguered legislative agenda — the clocks ticking on the TV are a reminder that ‘nothing we do this week is going to matter,’ in the words of one Trump adviser.”

TRUMP AND PENCE’S DAY — TRUMP will meet with “Obamacare victims” and speak about infrastructure in Cincinnati and PENCE is going to Houston to speak at the “2017 Astronaut Selection Announcement at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.”

COVERING THE COVERAGE: COMEY HEARING EDITION — C-SPAN, which is pool for the Comey hearing, will be broadcasting the main event Thursday live in its entirety on the C-SPAN networks.

BIG PLAYBOOK SCOOP — BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT NEW HIGH-TECH VISA RULES (with Morning Shift’s Ted Hesson) — The White House has been quietly working with the Justice Department on overhauling the H-1B program to better adhere to the administration’s “Buy American, Hire American” order, sources told Playbook.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is considering forcing companies seeking employees under the H-1B visa program to advertise the jobs online first and hire U.S. workers before foreigners — even for these high-tech roles. The Trump administration is also discussing reducing the cap and duration for these visas — which would, in effect, make it more costly for companies to bring foreign workers from overseas.

OTHER REGULATIONS include forcing H-1B employers to submit a report every six months on duties performed by the foreign worker. The administration could also seek to cut back “optional practical training,” which currently allows STEM graduates to work in the U.S. for three years after graduation. Justice and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

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BUZZ — THE NEW DEMOCRATIC STRATEGY — Democrats are outraged over the Trump administration’s policy to ignore information requests unless it comes from Republican committee or subcommittee chairs. So they are trying to find ways to publicly put pressure on Trump and congressional Republicans to cough up information. Under discussion: they might post all information requests to the administration for the public. Democrats are also considering sending each inquiry to Republican committee and subcommittee chairs and explicitly asking them to sign onto the requests.

— HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY JOHN KELLY testified Tuesday that DHS will respond to all congressional inquiries. “We’re leaning forward,” Kelly told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “Regardless of who the letter comes from, and it doesn’t have to just come from a ranking member or chairman, we’ll respond to any congressional inquiry.” http://politi.co/2r4SBRt

THE NEW DEBT CEILING REALITY — House Republican leaders said yesterday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will handle debt ceiling negotiations. WHAT’S THAT MEAN?: That Congress is going to need to pass a clean debt-ceiling hike, which was an anathema to the party when they took the House majority in 2011, and remains an anathema to the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Many senators are more open to it. WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN: Republican leaders should make sure President Trump knows that he should push a quick debt-ceiling hike — and be perfectly happy when it’s passed with dozens of Democrats in the House. BE AWARE: The House Freedom Caucus is NOT going to like this and it could harm legislating for the rest of the year. THE CASE TO DO IT SOON: Democrats are much less likely to support a clean debt-ceiling hike as it gets closer to the end of the year. Even now, Democrats are going to make noise about Republicans needing to pass this on their own.

OBAMACARE SPLIT — “GOP Senators’ Medicaid Clash Jeopardizes Health Deal,” by WSJ’s Kristina Peterson, Stephanie Armour and Louise Radnofsky: “Republican senators left their first decision-making meeting on overhauling the nation’s health-care system Tuesday deeply divided over the fate of Medicaid, a fissure that threatens to thwart their ambitions to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. The divide among Senate Republicans over Medicaid was wide enough that some GOP lawmakers and aides said they now believe it may be impossible to broker a deal to unwind the health law known as Obamacare. Some senators are already preparing to move to another goal, an overhaul of the tax code. ‘It’s more likely to fail than not,’ Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said of the health bill, citing the GOP’s hardening factions over how to handle the expansion of Medicaid ushered in by former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health law. ‘We need to bring this to an end and move to taxes.’” http://on.wsj.com/2r4NMHV

NEVER GONNA HAPPEN, BUT GOOD POLITICS — “Freedom Caucus: Cancel August recess,” by Rachael Bade: “The House Freedom Caucus on Tuesday night called on Republican leadership to cancel the August recess to continue work on tax reform and other GOP priorities. The group of several dozen conservative hardliners during their weekly meeting took the official position to work through the break, which is quickly drawing near as Republicans scramble to pass President Donald Trump’s agenda. ‘We need to work through August recess to get everything done,’ said Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), coming out of the meeting. ‘We believe that we need to stay through August to get through tax reform… and get our appropriations done.’” http://politi.co/2r4ClzT

— REALITY CHECK: The House isn’t even staying in town this whole WEEK. House Republicans canceled their Friday session. Convenient: it allows them to skip talking about Comey!

COMING ATTRACTIONS — “Texas Democrat intensifies Trump impeachment push,” by Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan: “Rep. Al Green is drafting articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, saying the president should be forced from office for firing FBI Director James Comey in the middle of the bureau’s ongoing Russia investigation. The articles of impeachment, which Green will officially announce Wednesday, follow increasing calls from some rank-and-file Democrats for Trump to be booted from office. ‘Obstruction of justice by the president is the problem,’ Green (D-Texas) said in a statement announcing his plan late Tuesday. ‘Impeachment by Congress is the solution.’” http://politi.co/2r0spfS

— “Talks heat up on Senate vote to sanction Russia,” by Elana Schor: “Senior senators in both parties are making headway in a push for a vote on sanctioning Russia when the upper chamber takes up a bipartisan Iran sanctions bill later this week, according to a Senate source. … Talks are ongoing over the details of the Senate’s potential Russia sanctions amendment, which could include additional punitive measures against Vladimir Putin’s government or a conversion of existing sanctions into law to make it harder for Trump to roll them back, the Senate source said.” http://politi.co/2rzYQ3e

SUSAN B. “SCOOP” GLASSER in POLITICO Magazine, “The 27 Words Trump Wouldn’t Say: Here’s the commitment the president refused to deliver at NATO headquarters”: “‘We face many threats, but I stand here before you with a clear message: the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance and to Article 5 is unwavering.’ This was what President Donald Trump was supposed to say in his May 25 address to NATO leaders in Brussels as a way of reassuring them about his evolving views toward the European collective-security pact that he once dismissed as ‘obsolete.’ A senior administration source today provided me the language from the deleted sentence, which was part of the final version of the speech signed off on by the Pentagon on May 23; the National Security Council and State Department approved similar language.” http://politi.co/2sRYqTN

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Islamic State claims attacks on Iran parliament, shrine,” by AP’s Amir Vahdat and Nasser Karimi in Tehran: “The Islamic State group claimed a pair of attacks Wednesday on Iran’s parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which have killed two security guards and wounded more than 30 people, with the siege at the legislature still underway. It marks the first attack in Iran claimed by the extremist group, which is at war with Iranian-backed forces in Syria and Iraq. In a message posted through its Aamaq News Agency, the IS group claimed its fighters were behind the assaults.” http://apne.ws/2r1andu

NEW POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL— “Voters have a clear message for President Donald Trump: Stop tweeting,” by Steven Shephard: “A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows the vast majority of voters, 69 percent, say Trump uses Twitter too much. Fifty-nine percent say the president’s use of Twitter is a bad thing, and even a majority of voters say Trump’s tweets hurt U.S. national security.

“Even Trump’s own base wants him to curb his Twitter use. A 53-percent majority of GOP voters say Trump tweets too much — though slightly more Republicans say Trump’s use of Twitter overall is a good thing (41 percent) than a bad thing (37 percent).” http://politi.co/2rUjDis

THE JUICE …

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A number of prominent Democratic strategists are starting a group called the CHORUS Agency to provide pro-bono help for progressives looking to run for Congress or statehouse. The group, started by Kate Catherall, will attempt to help candidates who are committed to values of “equity, opportunity, inclusion, and justice.” Senior advisers for the group include Marlon Marshall, Betsy Hoover, Reggie Cardozo, Lisa Conn, Max Wood, Luis Avila, Gabby Seay, Amy Chiou, Geoff Berman, and Saumya Narechania. The new group’s websitehttp://bit.ly/2sSjn0C

Playbook Reads

TOM DeLAY IS BACK! Per Theo Meyer’s Politico Influence: “Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has returned to lobbying, nearly four years after shedding his last lobbying client. DeLay’s firm, First Principles, has registered to lobby for the HAPPE Corporation, a firm based in rural Coolin, Idaho, not far from the Canadian border, that has never hired a lobbyist before. … DeLay will lobby on the American Health Care Act as the Senate takes up the bill. The firm is DeLay’s first lobbying client since he stopped lobbying for Argus Global in 2013.”

WEST COAST WATCH — “Jimmy Gomez wins Los Angeles congressional election to replace Xavier Becerra,” by L.A. Times’ Christine Mai-Duc: “State Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez was elected as Los Angeles’ newest member of Congress on Tuesday, defeating attorney Robert Lee Ahn in a sharply contested battle for the 34th Congressional District. Gomez will take the seat vacated by Xavier Becerra, who became state attorney general earlier this year, and will represent one of the poorest, most immigrant-heavy districts in the state, where the effects of President Trump’s policies on immigration and healthcare will be acutely felt.” http://lat.ms/2sCrTSe

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THE RESISTANCE — “Cuomo and Pelosi rally in push for House seats,” by New York Playbooker Jimmy Vielkind: “House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said she is targeting eight seats in New York in next year’s midterm elections, urging several thousand people at a Manhattan rally with Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday to organize for 2018. ‘Republicans in Washington are trying to drag our country back, but New York Democrats will lead us forward, armed with the strength of our values,’ Pelosi said during an event at the Javits Center. ‘There are eight Republican seats we can and must win in November 2018. Defeating in 2018 means laying the foundation for victory right now, and we have a powerful ally in this fight with Governor Andrew Cuomo.’” http://politi.co/2rTJBD0

— THE JOINT APPEARANCE came out of “a desire to bring people together around a common mission statement and give direction on how to mobilize. For the party to be successful in the future, it isn’t enough to just put up a resistance, we need to unify around the common goal of taking the House as a first step in 2018. That is concrete and attainable,” a Cuomo ally emails.

FUN STORY — “Vice president’s wife installs beehive at official residence,” by AP’s Darlene Superville: “The new hive has between 15,000 and 20,000 honeybees, said Larry Marling of Eco Honeybees, the Virginia-based company that was hired to install the beehive. The bee population could grow to between 40,000 and 50,000 bees by the end of the season, he said. The bees at the Pence’s residence will help the flower and vegetable gardens on the property, where kale, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and radishes grow. The honey they produce will be given away as gifts.” http://apne.ws/2r0Lcra

WOMEN RULE PODCAST: In an interview with former presidential candidate and business woman, Carly Fiorina sits down with POLITICO editor Carrie Budoff Brown to discuss the unique challenges women face when running for public office. “I was scrutinized, caricatured, criticized differently than a man would be.” Fiorina also shares her thoughts on Hillary Clinton’s loss, “…as much as I did not want her to be president of the United States because of her policy positions, I have empathy for Hillary Clinton.” And she has one message to President Trump: Stop tweeting. http://politi.co/2qW6NNo … Listen and subscribehttp://apple.co/2p6Tp8I

— FORMER U.S. SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-W.VA.) celebrated his 80th birthday Tuesday evening at his Rock Creek Park home joined by about 150 of his former staff and friends from his days as two term governor of West Virginia and five terms in the Senate. He was feted with a chocolate cake and happy birthday songs. SPOTTED: WVU President Gordon Gee, former chiefs of staff Tamera Luzzatto, Ira Shapiro and Lane Bailey; press secretaries Tim Gay, Scott Widmeyer, Laura Quinn and Linda Arnold; Patrick Robertson, Norwood Bentley, Jack Canfield, former West Virginia Democratic Party chair George Carenbauer; David Leiter; Ann Harkins.

OUT AND ABOUT IN NYC – NBC News’ Lester Holt and Roy Price of Amazon were honored at the annual Museum of the Moving Image dinner in NYC last night. Roy was toasted by Jeffrey Tambor while Lester was toasted by Noah Oppenheim. Pool report: “Lester talked about how something remarkable has happened over the last five months that hasn’t happened in his 38 years in journalism: people are thanking journalists. Stopping them in the street to thank them for asking the tough questions. ‘There is a renewed sense of appreciation for the role of free and independent journalism in our democracy.’

“He was introduced by NBC News President Noah Oppenheim, who talked about how unflappable Lester is: the higher the stakes the more Lester is at ease. He referenced the presidential debate — the team was backstage pacing and stress eating, meanwhile Lester was in an adjacent room watching an old Julia Roberts movie. Because ‘He does the work, he’s always prepared and he knows it.’” SPOTTED: Harvey Weinstein at the Amazon table, David Corvo, Liz Cole and Nightly News EP Sam Singal.

TRANSITIONS — Bravo Group, the largest PR firm in Pennsylvania, is opening a D.C. office, which will be led by senior director Jessica Ennis. She’s the former political director for the 2016 Rubio campaign and an NRSC, FP1 Strategies, Romney 2012 and RNC alum. … WaPo alum Amit Paley yesterday was named CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth.

…Denise Feriozzi is joining Civitas Public Affairs Group as a principal. She most recently served as the deputy executive director of EMILY’s List. http://politi.co/2s3BS61 … Peter Stehouwer has joined Bayer as deputy director for federal relations and policy. He was previously legislative director for Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.). He also worked for Michigan Reps. Bill Huizenga and Pete Hoekstra.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Emily Murry

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: conservative columnist Myra Adams. How she’s celebrating: “Today, husband David and I will be enjoying ‘flyover country’ bound for San Francisco to celebrate my stepgrandson’s third birthday tomorrow and mine too, one day late. My stepson works for Google and when we visit he helps us better utilize our various devices since we were born in ancient times.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2rKU0ys

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The host of TYT Network's nationally-syndicated Bill Press Show (Monday-Friday from 7-9am ET), Press attends the daily White House press briefing and writes a weekly column for the powerhouse politics website The Hill.